{"title":"DROP 1 | Asteroid Visions","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit css-9znzpt\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCentered around ERG Chech 002—a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid fragment believed to be part of the first planetary crust, and the arresting space photography of Neil Buckland, this auction immerses collectors in the story of our origins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"erg-chech-002-oldest-volcanic-rock-in-the-solar-system-interior-exterior-revealed","title":"ERG CHECH 002 — OLDEST VOLCANIC ROCK IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, INTERIOR \u0026 EXTERIOR REVEALED","description":"\u003cp\u003eNumerous stones featuring distinctive green crystals were found in May 2020 in southern Algeria in the Erg Chech Sand Sea. As they were the only unusually appearing stones on the dunes, the work of meteorite hunters was made easy. No previously known meteorites looked quite like this. Following a battery of tests, as a result of its compositional uniqueness, Erg Chech 002 was classified as an ungrouped achondrite, one of only 116 of 67,000 meteorites in scientific literature. In effect, this meteorite is a sample of a previously unknown and unsampled asteroid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eLess than one year later came the headline news. On March 16, 2021, a research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concerning Erg Chech 002 was deemed sufficiently noteworthy that it was shared by hundreds of newspapers throughout the world. Following a result of isotopic analysis, a team of international researchers led by Dr. Jean Alix Barrat determined that Erg Chech 002 meteorites are the oldest volcanic rocks in the solar system — roughly 20 million years older than Earth.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eErg Chech 002 is a volcanic rock from the crust of a protoplanet (an asteroid with an iron core, mantle, crust — and volcanoes) that no longer exists. Surface samples of the oldest protoplanets are virtually unheard of because their parent bodies were typically metamorphosed or destroyed by impacts. The appearance of large pyroxene crystals indicates the magma from which this stone originated must have cooled quite slowly. This pyroxene differs in composition from the pyroxene found on Earth, or that found in other meteorites, because of the relatively high amount of chromium — the same element responsible for emeralds being green. Moreover, the oxygen isotopes of Erg Chech 002 occupy a special niche shared by only four other meteorites, but Erg Chech 002 is mineralogically unlike the other four. (The micrograph of Erg Chech 002, Image 3, by Neil Buckland is not part of this lot.)\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eErg Chech 002 is a remarkable meteorite, and this particular specimen has an exceptional earthly provenance as well. It is among the larger specimens and images of this very meteorite were used when the National Academy of Sciences announced its findings. As a result, the article published by scores of newspapers as well as websites throughout the world — including LiveScience, Vice, Forbes and National Geographic — featured an image of the very specimen now offered.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe cut and polished face of this specimen features a variegated warm-hued matrix with large green pyroxene crystals scattered throughout. A prominent vug is seen at the upper perimeter. The soft, undulating curves of the reverse outer surface are also embellished with the same, large emerald-hued crystals. This is a notable offering of a preeminent specimen of the oldest known lava in the solar system.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46629262721260,"sku":null,"price":350000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/6732\/0556\/files\/Screenshot2025-06-17at12.54.23PM.png?v=1751946274"},{"product_id":"neil-buckland-cosmic-microscape-the-martian-meteorite-nwa-13885","title":"NEIL BUCKLAND COSMIC MICROSCAPE — THE MARTIAN METEORITE NWA 13885","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a limited edition print of NWA 13885 (see lots 50 and 51) created by renowned photographer Neil Buckland. It was captured from a thin section of an NWA 13885 specimen that was 35 microns thick (a human hair is 90-150 microns). Buckland has pioneered a new micro-panoramic imaging system that combines hundreds of individual photographs to yield a seamless \"microscape\" of unprecedented detail. The ability to image larger areas provides researchers a far greater context in their studies of commingled mineral components. Widely published and exhibited in both galleries and museums, Buckland collaborates with Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world’s foremost meteorite classification experts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eNWA 13885 is an olivine-phyric shergottite — a type of a Mars rock that contains large grains (called phenocrysts) of olivine (that crystallized from the parent magma deep underground) set within a finer-grained groundmass (that crystallized more rapidly near or at the surface of Mars. In this partially cross-polarized (XPL70) image, the large colored grains are the olivine phenocrysts, the smaller prismatic grains are pyroxene (mostly blue), maskelynite (light gray) and opaque oxide minerals (black).\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA 12-color archival pigment on 100% cotton rag. Coated with a satin acrylic finish, the print is frameless, glassless and mounted on a birch wood panel. The panel is signed and numbered — limited edition 3 of 9 — on the reverse.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46629268226284,"sku":null,"price":15000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/6732\/0556\/files\/Screenshot2025-06-17at12.57.39PM.png?v=1751946523"},{"product_id":"neil-buckland-cosmic-microscape-the-lunar-meteorite-nwa-12691","title":"NEIL BUCKLAND COSMIC MICROSCAPE — THE LUNAR METEORITE NWA 12691","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a limited edition print of NWA 12691 (see lots 2, 14 and 55) created by renowned photographer Neil Buckland. It was captured from a thin section of a NWA 12691 specimen that was 35 microns thick (a human hair is 90-150 microns). Buckland has pioneered a new micro-panoramic imaging system that combines hundreds of individual photographs to yield a seamless \"microscape\" of unprecedented detail. The ability to image larger areas provides researchers a far greater context in their studies of commingled mineral components. Widely published and exhibited in both galleries and museums, Buckland collaborates with Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world’s foremost meteorite classification experts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eNWA 12691 is a lunar meteorite. The predominant mineral grains (grays and whites) in this cross-polarized (XPL90) image are calcium-rich plagioclase of a variety called anorthite; pyroxene and olivine (colored grains) also occur as well as very small grains of opaque iron-rich oxides. This rock is a breccia, meaning that it was broken up and mixed by multiple ancient impacts of small asteroids onto the surface of the Moon. Several thin, “wispy” veinlets of calcite are of terrestrial origin, precipitated from infiltrating groundwater as this specimen lay partially buried in the Sahara Desert.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA 12-color archival pigment on 100% cotton rag. Coated with a satin acrylic finish, the print is frameless, glassless and mounted on a birch wood panel. The panel is signed and numbered — limited edition 7 of 9 — on the reverse.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46629269111020,"sku":null,"price":15000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/6732\/0556\/files\/Screenshot_2025-06-17_at_12.58.48_PM.png?v=1751946328"},{"product_id":"aouinet-legraa-a-neil-buckland-cosmic-microscape","title":"AOUINET LEGRAA — A NEIL BUCKLAND COSMIC MICROSCAPE","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a limited edition print of Aouinet Legraa (see lots 48 and 57) created by renowned photographer Neil Buckland. It was captured from a thin section of an Aouinet Legraa specimen 30 microns thick (a human hair is 90-150 microns). Buckland has pioneered a new micro-panoramic imaging system that combines hundreds of individual photographs to yield a seamless \"microscape\" of unprecedented detail. The ability to image larger areas provides researchers a far greater context in their studies of commingled mineral components. Widely published and exhibited in both galleries and museums, Buckland collaborates with Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world’s foremost meteorite classification experts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAouinet Legraa is an exceedingly fresh example of a rare unbrecciated eucrite. Taken in partially cross-polarized light (XPL0), the colored grains in this image are pyroxene, the whitish to pale gray lathe-like grains are plagioclase, and the small black (opaque) grains are primarily oxide minerals rich in iron, titanium and chromium.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA 12-color archival pigment on 100% cotton rag. Coated with a satin acrylic finish, the print is frameless, glassless and mounted on a birch wood panel. The panel is signed and numbered — limited edition 5 of 9 — on the reverse.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46629269766380,"sku":null,"price":15000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/6732\/0556\/files\/Screenshot_2025-06-17_at_12.59.53_PM.png?v=1751946809"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0774\/6732\/0556\/collections\/Screenshot_2025-06-17_at_12.52.23_PM.png?v=1751946216","url":"https:\/\/rareified.com\/collections\/drop-1-asteroid-visions.oembed","provider":"Rareified","version":"1.0","type":"link"}